Welland Triathlon - Sprint Distance - Triathlon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Welland, Ontario
Canada
Multisport Canada
27C / 81F
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 23m 36s
Overall Rank = 255/279
Age Group = 60-64
Age Group Rank = 5/7
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4:45; wash up; yoga; lemon juice, green juice, coffee, hemp protein shake (1/2) my sprouted buckwheat groats made into oatmeal with goji berries, shredded coconut, cacoa nibs and home made almond milk.
Bike and left hotel at 6:40, got to race site at 6:50.
Event warmup:

Bike w/u at hotel at 6:00 a.m for 20 minutes - 8 minutes around parking lot and then out on the roads. Felt good.

Got a 20 minute swim w/u from 8:00-8:20. Getting used to current. Also felt good.
Swim
  • 17m 30s
  • 750 meters
  • 02m 20s / 100 meters
Comments:

I felt really good about this swim given the lack of swimming/down time over the past month due to overuse injury that came out full force in May/June, but started as early at March due to the high volume of swimming. Didn't swim most of winter and started up again in Feb and by June have swum the same volume as entire last year.

Realized I was using my shoulders/arm for the pull (in my efforts to have a better reach) instead of lats and have only had 2 swims changing the technique but it feels right, and good.

Pacing was consistent for entire distance. Didn't feel like I was tiring anytime during the distance.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Swam according to plan today. Still easing back into volume/intensity to see how shoulder/arm responds. Still have severe aching at night unless I ice and use Myomed.

Was breathing pretty easy, and since it all felt good, plan to push harder in next race.

Transition 1
  • 03m 59s
Comments:

There is a 425 meter run up from swim exit back to transition. I took my wetsuit off as soon as I had it down to waist while running. Run up took 2:45. So my T1 time (1:14) was faster than most but my run up was slower by that amount.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 1h 04m 28s
  • 30 kms
  • 28.10 km/hr
Comments:

Have not biked much this season and no intensity work yet so wasn't expecting much from this race. Just hoping that it wasn't going to have seriously deteriorated over last year. Had to think about running off the bike (because of run down time in June due to ankle overuse injury) yet wanted to push somewhat on the bike, so decided to use small ring in front for the 15km into the headwind and keep the cadence high and not burn out legs, then switched to big ring at the turn around and pushed harder on the last 15km. Able to keep the speed at 31-32 entire 15km and some segments at 33-34, but not the advantage I was looking for. Did have a negative split with bike speed up by over 2km/hr.


What would you do differently?:

For this race nothing - followed my plan.
Transition 2
  • 01m 59s
Comments:

T2 was good, but not super fast - more methodical, not having raced since last September and just wanting to get things right. Also took time to grab a pair of sock and stick in back on tri suit in case I had problems with shoes on run and needed the socks. Took a few extra seconds to wolf down some chews.

Replaced laces with e-z laces last night and they worked well getting my shoes on easily
What would you do differently?:

Just move a bit quicker. My T2's used to be just under a minute so need to get back to that.
Run
  • 53m 12s
  • 7.5 kms
  • 07m 11s  min/km
Comments:

I knew this wasn't going to be a fast run, and not sure if I could even run the distance because of the ankle injury in May/June and all the downtime, plus new inserts in the shoes and not having tested them running. Did test them walking for 45 minutes. Plus the left hip was feeling tight/weird off the early morning bike w/u.

Goal was to just put in the best effort possible and hopefully be able to finish it and finish it safely.

Although my legs felt like they weighed about 300 lbs each, the running actually felt OK. Saw my first km was a pace of 7:07 so knew it would be slow but since I usually get faster, would be happy with that. However, I got slower. It was so hot, feeling like 30* at 9:00 a.m. and 36 by the time we were running.

Around 2.5 km could feel both arches forming blisters and carried on till about 3km where I sat down and took time to check out feet and put the socks on. Took a bit to get rolling again, so this added even more time, but the feet felt better.

This was the LONGEST 7.5km ever. I couldn't believe it when the 5km sign finally came up. Felt like I had run 10km. Had the helpers throw water on my head, front and back through every water station. Never stopped to drink - had my own small hand bottle that is strapped to hand so you don't have to hold it. Works well.

Ken was waiting for me at the 6.5km mark and ran the rest of the way back with me. He said I looked strong and had good form.

Since I knew I wasn't going to have the pace today, decided to focus on keeping up form at least.
What would you do differently?:

Again, knew what the run would be, so really not much except probably shouldn't have run with the new inserts on race day and for such a long distance.
Post race
Warm down:

Walking around.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of bike volume plus no training yet this season with intensity. All basically foundation work. Plus almost 4 weeks down time in both running and swimming. Really lost alot of aerobic fitness with the lack of running.

Event comments:

This is a good race. Swimming in the canal/recreational waterway is good and clean. Flat course is nice, but can be windy.




Last updated: 2013-04-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:17:30 | 750 meters | 02m 20s / 100meters
Age Group: 5/7
Overall: 223/279
Performance: Good
Weather temp was 27, but with humidity, felt like 39 degrees.
Suit: Long sleeve wet suit
Course: Long, rectangular course with big bright buoys that were easy to site.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 18C / 64F Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:59
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:04:28 | 30 kms | 28.10 km/hr
Age Group: 5/7
Overall: 236/279
Performance: Good
Didn't wear HR monitor
Wind: Headwind with gusts
Course: The course sort of went SW and the winds were 15-17SW so headwind on the way out and tail wind on the way back but for some reason we didn't seem to get the advantage we were looking for (according to everyone).
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:59
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:53:12 | 07.5 kms | 07m 11s  min/km
Age Group: 6/7
Overall: 263/279
Performance: Bad
No HR monitor.
Course: Along the canal. Sort of a long out and back with 2 crossings of the canal. No shade.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4